Miracle Memories

We asked you to share your memories of the 1974 season, and the responses poured in -- many about the Texas game. Thanks for reliving that wonderful year with all of us.
 

I was a senior at Baylor the year we beat Texas.'Sitting in the student section of the stadium, my friends and I were jumping up and down so much that we broke off a 3-foot section of one of the planks in the wooden bleachers.'Not wanting to be stopped after the game as we walked out of the stadium ... carrying a piece of the bleachers with me, I somehow stuck it down my pants leg and walked stiff-legged out to my car.'I still have that section of the bleachers from Baylor Stadium, my personal memento of that miraculous season.
David Kent, BA '75, JD '78
 

I attended -- GREAT. During the last quarter, the announcer (we miss him) gave a license number of a car in the parking lot with their lights on, and requested the owner to go to their car to avoid a dead battery. A few minutes later the announcer stated that the owner of the car was NOT going to leave this game, he would just leave the car lights on and "tend" to it later. I thought this was hysterical. No one left the game early.
Hugh Lucas Jr., JD '67
 

We saw the Miracle on the Brazos game firsthand. A picture of the scoreboard remains on the wall in my law office. It was 24-7 in favor of Texas at halftime, as I recall. Folks began to leave, headed for deer camps and the like. My wife, Marilyn, my first cousin, Billie Ann Coleman, and I'stayed. There was a fine mist in the air. As Baylor began to rally, I began to physically beat on a Texas fan in front of me. He had been pretty loud and obnoxious during the first half. When it was over, a Baylor teammate of mine from the '60s, Gary Alexander,'came down out of the stands, raised his hands skyward and said, "Lord, take me on.'I've seen it all." As I recall, some folks slept under the scoreboard, which supposedly stayed on all night. It was one of the most enjoyable experiences in my lifetime.
John D. Mosley, BBA '70, JD '72
 

A fairly smooth piece of weathered wood rests on my office credenza as a memento of the 1974 Baylor football season.'The wood is from the bleachers of Baylor Stadium that were removed after the l974 season.'Some splinters from the wooden bleachers probably still remain embedded in polyester pants that sat on these bleachers over the years. For those who doubt that these pants still exist, you haven't seen my closet.
My most vivid memory of the l974 football season was the Baylor-Texas game in Waco.'My wife's friends in Dallas were big University of Texas fans. ... We invited them to the Baylor-Texas football game, and they agreed to attend the "slaughter" with us, having nothing better to do.'We drove from Fort Worth to Dallas and picked them up and drove to Waco.'The drive to Waco was cordial and friendly, and they were in good spirits up to the second half of the football game.'After the game, and during the drive back to Dallas, the silence was deafening.'I suppose they had exhausted their thoughts for the day on the trip to Waco.'A lesson in humility is good for us all.
William L. White, BBA '63, JD '65
 

I will always remember the Miracle on the Brazos year. Baylor only lost one conference game that year, to A&M. That game was my first formal date with Pamela Taylor. We both wore nice fall outfits on what turned out to be an extremely hot day. Although that game was a loss, I remember how excited we were as Baylor went on to win the conference and go to the Cotton Bowl. We even placed a small glass bowl with cotton in it to symbolize Baylor's accomplishment. It will always be not just the time Baylor won, but the time I won the hand of my future wife. We have been married 27 years, and our oldest son will be a junior at Baylor this fall.
Richard L. Elam, BA '73, MA '75
 

In 1974, I was pastor of a church in Windermere, Fla.'During the football season that year, I would announce the Baylor score before my sermon each Sunday.'My congregation, seeing how thrilled I was to win the SWC Championship, paid for my trip to Dallas to watch the Cotton Bowl.
Gordon Smith, BBA '60, (former bear trainer)
 

Of course, everyone who didn't leave early (because we were being beaten so badly) remembers the game, but Neal Jeffrey's (BU All-Star quarterback) parents from KC stayed with us that night since I was working for Baylor and'had a home'in faculty housing. We stayed up until Neal and his girlfriend (future wife) came by and then about 3 a.m., we went downtown to the Waco News-Tribune to grab the first copies of Sunday's paper. Then we took a couple of copies out to the stadium to give to Dr. Reynolds and President McCall, who, as you know, were "sleeping" on the 50-yard line; so there we were reading the sports story on the 50-yard line at 3 a.m. With some of the stadium lights still glaring. Well, the president wasn't there at the time, but we went ahead and replayed a couple of Neal's fantastic passes against the Longhorns. It was quite a sight, seeing the executive vice president going out for an "instant replay"'pass! A day never to be forgotten. Along with many other unforgettable Baylor sports events during my student and employee days at GOB!
Larry Smith, BA '69
 

First of all, thanks for the opportunity to participate in this very special project. I think it's great. Now then, about that Miracle Year of '74. 
I was born in 1924, the last year Baylor had won the SWC football championship. So, in 1974 I got to celebrate my 50th birthday in a grand and glorious way when the Bears finally broke that 50-year drought. I had almost come to believe that my birth had put that awful whammy on them.
And this special remembrance about the Miracle Season: I was tremendously impressed with Coach Darrell Royal of UT when he came to the Bears' locker room following the breakthrough victory against the Longhorns at Baylor Stadium. Coach Royal congratulated the Bears and their coaches, and promised them the 'Horns would take care of the Aggies in Austin that year, thus providing BU with the championship. And Darrell Royal kept his word! I've had a better feeling about those "Hook 'em" people ever since.
William Horick, BA '50
 

I was one of the Baylor team MDs at the time. I was at a medical meeting in Williamsburg, Va., that morning, and I decided that Baylor was going to beat Texas. I called and changed our plane reservation and arrived at the game at halftime. My wife was furious at me for making her leave Williamsburg in a great rush and cancel plans for the evening. I would have died if I had missed THE MIRACLE.
Dr. Robert Crosthwait Jr., BS '56, MD '59